'16 And Pregnant' Viewers More Likely To Support Abortion

Turns out, spending whole Saturdays watching marathons of baby Bentley on MTV might do more than just distract you from work deadlines and errands. A study from the Public Religion Research Institute indicate that viewers of MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, or who know someone who has had an abortion, are supportive of it being legal.

Slate reports that researchers surveyed more than 3,000 adults from all generations. They also asked participants whether they've recently seen ultrasound images and if they have a "situationalist" or "principle-based" approach to morality.

The results may not surprise you. The institute found that putting the issue of abortion in "the context of a specific woman's circumstances...opinion tends to favor abortion rights." However, they found the opposite if the issue was framed from the point of view of the unborn child. Based on these results, PRRI named each "the friendship effect", "the ultrasound effect", and "the MTV effect".